Rhode Island is likely to become the next US state to offer online casino games, including online poker, after the state's Senate and House bodies approved identical pieces of legislation and sent the approved Senate bill to the state's governor, Daniel McKee. McKee is expected, but not guaranteed, to sign the iGaming bill into law.
If signed as expected, online poker could be available to Rhode Island residents by early 2024. Due to its small population, the state is also expected to seek to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Association (MSIGA) to pool its players with those in other MSIGA states.
The twin bills were approved by Rhose Island's Senate and House yesterday, June 15, the final day of the current legislative session on which such measures could be passed. The Senate version of the bill, S0948, passed by a 34-4 margin with two abstentions. The House version, H6348, passed by a 56-11 margin with eight abstentions.
The online iGaming push was heavily backed by Bally's Corporation, the only company that operates live casinos in the state. Whenever the iGaming services go live, the will be associated with Bally's two brick-and-mortar casinos, the Tiverton and Twin River Lincoln venues. The online-gambling platform will be powered by IGT and run in affiliation with Rhode Island's lottery division.
Bally's first announced its plans to promote iGaming legislation in February in the face of active online competition in several neighboring and nearby Northeastern states. The bills Bally's helped to draft were submitted in April. Pushing them across the legislatures' finish line still wasn't as easy as the final vote tallies indicated, as numerous amendments were introduced and several were adopted before the bills reached their final form.
